Show Reviews

I'm trying very hard to not get carried away. I really don't want to get carried away with this show, a show that I heard live via stream, and am currently listening to via download because I just had to listen to it again the first chance that I could do so. There's a lot of tour left, and who knows where this band will be come August, or (who knows) come the fall. Maybe a set like this, that you listen to and you just *know* is a set worthy of repeated listen after repeated listen, will sound like child's play by then. Maybe, by then, we'll be so spoiled by Phish 2013 that sets like this, that trade on beautiful multi-faceted jams that shift moods like a light switch being flipped, segues borne of remarkable communication between four musicians totally in tune with each other, teases a-plenty to satisfy the folks who were there when Phish were young and *goofy* bastards, and energy from the opening of Rock & Roll until the final crashing close to Character Zero that would make you think it's 1995 all over again, won't mean as much to us. Maybe it doesn't even mean that much to us *now*, so spoiled are we by Phish in the past and in the present. Maybe I'm just getting too ahead of myself from the excitement of hearing a great show live (or semi-live). Maybe so.

So I'll just say this - back in the day, the Washington Post had a great slogan for their TV and radio commercials. Any past or present resident of the DC area knows what it is - "if you don't get it, you don't get it." Let's leave it at that.

I really thought that after watching the 3 SPAC webcasts and hearing a couple shows from the tour that I had a pretty good idea of where Phish was at, but they again exceeded my expectations last night. The playing at this point is simply phenomenal and they have incredible reserves of Energy - no question about it, they are pacing themselves because when they want to they can get There just like it is easy. It is joyful to see them in total command of their abilities, playing like this. For a fan like me (the hook goes deep in this one), I am thrilled to be here, now.

Ok, let's talk about the show. In the first set, I thought we had a really generous song selection and there were several surprises (at least for me). I dig Kill Devil Falls, but this one was bittersweet since it is one of Denise's favorite songs and she wasn't with me. This was pretty standard as KDF goes, which is too bad, because the song can be outrageous. Here we get it pretty much in its lines, as they are - a little tease of a jam, a sign that everyone is in attendance, but nothing too spectacular as KDF goes. Mound follows. People that started seeing Phish in 3.0 must think Mound is played all the time. It wasn't for a long time and I dig it every time I hear it, especially when it is played like this. The song is generally a great omen that the show is going to be special, but of course I had no doubt.

I love Gin, but I thought it came out a little bit early, which can either mean that the first set is going to go really deep, really quickly or that we are going to be left with our tongues hanging out. It was kind of the latter for me. I mean, I loved the jam, especially because Mike was changing its shape the whole time (another good omen, btw). I should point out that Page wasn't prominent in the mix where I was standing as the others, which sucks for Gin especially, so you should take that into account, but my overall feeling after the Gin started taking off was that it should be let free a little more to wreak havoc. This one built up very nicely but finished off way too fast. It did show that there was plenty of slack in the line though.

I thought I heard a Roggae tease in the tuning before Army of One, but I don't hear it at all in the tapes, so more than likely I was hallucinating without actually taking psychedelics. I dig this song a lot because I love Page's voice to death and the lyrics are great. It also gives us a chance to hear their vocal arrangements better and Trey can play guitar without worrying about remembering lyrics. It is not usually (or ever) a jamming vehicle though and this one is no different, so it tempers the show's energy a bit, but in a charming way and hey, we can't RAGE every song, right?

I swear I always worry now when they play Rift. Isn't that stupid? "How badly are they going to mess up?" is the subconscious question that I can't suppress. This version is damn near perfect - I think I remember some flubbing of the lyrics (which weirdly I don't hear anymore), but everybody in the audience seemed to falter at the same time, so maybe it was a case of the cosmic glue coming undone and Trey just fell through it together with us. It is more important to me if the music is nailed, though, and this one is good for that. It also turned the levels back up to 10 - frenetic mode this time. Horn - another short song that I love a lot - mellowed us out again and I couldn't help but admire the pace of the show. Was this conscious? I hope so. Possum, entirely expected and always welcome in my book, gave us another ride on the up elevator. No, it wasn't like the Possums of the summer last year, but there really isn't such a thing as a bad Possum and there is a legion of Possums that are so nasty and relentless that you willingly give yourself over to ecstasy. This doesn't hit all the dots, but it's mid-set placement was perfect and the energy went right back up (to 11 this time). Fun, fun, song, and tied perfectly into the mood set in the happy space of the Gin jam. So far, it was a solid first set and I was beaming. I looked over at my fellow rmp-ers that were at the show with me and saw they were sharing the same good feeling. Jeff and Polly were grinning from ear to ear and boogieing. Marsha was dancing her ass off - "It's Possum, Possum" she said when they started it. I was like "yeah, I know, the 1 millionth time, right?" I was just as excited though. I didn't hear the Horn teases at the show.

After a long break where Page remarks about how nice it is that it isn't raining (who says "not yet!"?), they started up Pebbles and Marbles, which is my favorite song from the Round Room album, which in my opinion is one of their best for songs. I have always thought that Pebbles was a jam platform that was waiting to be harvest, even though it is an intricate song with lots of composed parts. When Phish was in a bad way, Pebbles seemed like it was hurt more than others and looked like it was dropped for a while, but every one I've seen has always been eye-opening and this was no different. I love the lyrics, the idea of how temporary everything is and the embedded idea that how we view the world changes reality. It's a deep, deep tune and it floods my head and heart - "to think that someone left it for us". I mean, I've felt that and it feels so good. Anyway, what can you say? They nailed it with a tremendous competence and you can forgive them for not stretching it out too far - they made their point. I hope they keep playing it and it soars even more by the end of the tour, but I can plainly say that I already was a satisfied customer in the middle of the first set, which is not to say that I didn't want more, not at all actually, but I was already fine.

Cue Ocelot. Ocelot, one of my favorites of the Joy box, has grown into a monster - just bludgeoning the living shit out of all the slothy ones that were ever made. Here we have the first really totally satisfying jam of the set and by that I mean, with all due respect to KDF and Gin, this Ocelet was a trained assassin. The jam tonight was at times blistering and melodious in turn and it was VERY satisfying - one of the peaks of the show for me. At the end of Ocelot I took stock. As much as I liked the Gin, I felt like it was pulled back from the edge way too soon - maybe it was just too early? I thought KDF was also a song they could have stretched out more, so that was a little disappointing. Mound was gold of course and they played it well. Army of One is great to hear (still waiting for my Halfway to the Moon though, Mr McConnell - please - and could you do Final Flight maybe one day again?) Rift was better than the other time they played it, but it still isn't what it needs to be. Pebbles and Marbles was juicy and well-played, but nothing beyond my high expectations. Ocelot fucking smoked.

I think they played Cavern just to make sure that everyone got the message that they were hear to rock, and it was a hot, typical Cavern, but even now today, sixteen hours later, drinking my stout and IPAs that Ocelot was swarmy. What a song!

After Cavern, they just took the lids off. The Antelope crushed - simply put, it overwhelmed the senses with a mix of subtlety and unbridled attack that nobody can withstand. Look, I know that Antelope is a group song and that Mike and Fish and Page are going completely nuts, but for me in Antelope I always find myself focusing on what Trey is doing and here we have Trey Anastasio decimating with tremendous ease - one of the finest guitarists in the world, completely free to wield his implements of construction and in full command of his faculties. Just. RELENTLESS. Look, there are times just to say go listen to it. Go listen to it. Altogether a good first set and the four minstrels from Gamehendge took their bow and departed.

Summary: So, in my mind, an altogether ordinary, wonderfully good first set of a Phish 3.0 show in 2013.

In my mind, the typical Phish 3.0 formula for the second set that has developed is something like this. We get one big song (sometimes there is a tune that leads into it) with a long, crazy-ass jam that leads into a tune or two that stretch. Then there is a calming break and we finish the second set with another couple songs that might aspire to madness and then one closer after another. For a while there, it seemed like they just kept playing closers until everybody gave up. This has happily changed and now the typical Phish 3.0 formula is essentially anything goes, but I am still influenced by that preconception. This caused me, for example, when Chalkdust started up to have a moment of sadness because I thought the jam-part of the show was over. Ha. Ha. Ha.

When they returned and started up with Rock and Roll, it looked very promising. I mean, I like the song a lot of course and the jamming potential is basically infinite. After working through the standard bits, the spells and potions were employed and they found a lovely mellifluous jam. Wrapping this up with some pure rock leads and Page on the clavinet, they dug a little deeper and then they were playing Heartbreaker. This has a full verse and Trey sounds a bit hoarse, but the intent is there and it's a joy to hear. This is just glorious as it melts into Makisupa with Mike and Page and Trey all taking turns, which I figured capped a jam segment that was intense but altogether too short, if that was it, I mean. I am hard to satisfy. I should have been pretty happy now, right?

Makisupa had some great fun about the girl in the front row. I think she is probably grateful that the cameras weren't on in the venue (at least we didn't see them). Policeman come to Alpharetta. Hey, by the way, no problems with cops, none with security, no problem getting in, and no traffic leaving. This was a pretty well-organized event. Kudos to all involved and thanks for leaving me alone. ;-)

Chalkdust was just pure bliss. This was the jam of the night in a night of many, many beautiful jams. I have to say because I'm so clueless that I actually got sad for a moment when Chalkdust started because I figured we were already closing down the fun house - Chalkdust is a good closer - but they had other plans. This jam is another that I would have been perfectly content to listen to for an hour or more, but they pulled in the net and came up with a Wilson. This Wilson was played with pure demonic force. It's really insane how much the tape reveals and how much of the essential experience is missing. I haven't had a chance to download a good aud so I'm listening to the livephish, which is clean and true, but I don't see Trey's shaggy head nor Mike's sneer. When they kick into Heartbreaker again, I do see Fishman laughing though. Can you still have any fun, Wilson?

Tweezer kicked off part II so I guess Makisupa and Chalkdust were the "calming break". This is a tight hard-hitting Tweezer that is a tremendous group effort. Page teases heartbreaker at the short jam before Ebeneezer and Mike is everywhere at once. When Ebeneezer happens, we are back in Hearbreaker again and it shifts into a glorious playful section. This is a sweet jam and you could make the argument that this is as good as Chalkdust before and I wouldn't fight about it - it's a matter of taste. Trey finds a beautiful progression that he latches onto and they follow and then we are in a neat space again that, for what it's worth, didn't have to end this soon. I mean, I know, with an attitude like mine it's hard to be satisfied - but as long as the jam goes on I'm there. Somewhere they decided it was enough though and we drifted into Silent, which I thought was actually Light (I was happy about Light and feel a bit robbed - sorry fellows - if I were easy to please, I'd follow someone else around). I also like my Silents with The Horse so I lose twice with this one, but it was pretty nevertheless.

It also felt like the end for me and I'm terrified of endings. The Birds that came afterwards was rocking but not extraordinary (just averagely excellent). There was a well-placed Joy. Did Trey choke up? I don't know. I was busy choking up myself. We want you to be happy too. Hood was excellent as always and Character Zero was really, really, really a barn-burner.

I didn't expect "A Day in the Life" but Marsha said she heard it earlier on. In any case, it's always well-received, never played enough and I'm sure it couldn't be. Just a great song, right? The overwhelming feeling I had during Tweezer Reprise is that it was so wonderful to see Trey with his shaggy hair having so much fun. I'm so happy you guys are apparently taking care of yourselves and keeping your shit together. I'm looking forward to many years of joy.

First set is standard to average 3.0 set, all summer tour repeats except for Pebbles and Horn. Set 2 starts to heat up and is one of the better sets of the tour thus far. I wouldn't classify it as the best at any rate. While the Heartbreaker theme in the second set was fun, it doesn't make up for the lack of song selection and solid type 2 jamming.

This show was chock full of boxed play and great type 1 jamming! Many will enjoy this aspect of the show and many will not. Excellent CDT here, and funny narration by Trey during Makisupa.

The Heartbreaker teases and jams are well played throughout and I especially like the brief heartbreaker jam in Harry Hood! Such a fun way to deliver a quality second set!

Straight up solid show... extremely well played, and the Heartbreaker theme through the entire 2nd set was most welcome.

I'm certain that many will call this show the "best show ever" or something to that affect, but these guys are now at a point where they are just so damn good that it becomes difficult to really compare. They are sick, and tonight was sick. I'm just happy to be continuing the journey with them...

This show was amazing! My girlfriend and I were in the front row Page side right up on the rail, and we partied our asses off the entire time. Mound was definitely a throwback to the show two years ago when they had to stop mid-song for the weather, and I thought it was great they played it to make up for what happened last time. I would have liked Rift to be a tad longer, but Horn was a nice treat, as was Pebbles and Marbles. I think it's funny that they have played Possum at every venue this summer, and I would bet that they will continue to play Possum at every other venue they go to this summer, whether people want it or not. I thought the Cavern>Antelope segued extremely well, and ended the first set with the crowd begging for the second set to start as quickly as possible. Once the second set started with Rock and Roll the band seemed committed to having as little and as short of breaks as possible as they continued to play, stringing the songs together flawlessly. Every song and segue was perfect, especially when CDT dropped off and the first Wilson chord was strung...everyone went nuts. During Tweezer it seemed like Chris Kuroda turned the lights down so everyone good fully enjoy the glow-stick war going on in the pit. After Tweezer, Silent in the Morning served the purpose of calming everyone down after a solid rage fest that had been continuing for quite some time. I really enjoyed the whole show but I think my favorite would have to be Harry Hood. They nailed it, and I really enjoy Mike's heavily effected bass line in the intro, so funky and bubbly. I heard some people say that this show was too slow for them, but I disagree. Maybe it's just because I was in the front row, so everything was much more intense, but I think the band played phenomenally tonight. My only criticism is their choice of A Day in the Life as their encore. It seems that they have really been going for classic covers for their encores lately, which isn't necessarily a bad thing but I would enjoy an epic Phish original as an encore more so than a Beetles cover. Otherwise it was a fantastic show, I wish I was going to more shows than just the two Alpharetta shows this summer, if Phish ever comes back to Florida you can bet I will be at every show down here.

This show deserves the "Fun" moniker. Great jams, excellent party atmosphere, upbeat song selection, "Heartbreaker" teases and funny stage banter. Not an earth moving emotional experience but and really really fun show.

From the 14 year old kids that we talked to while we were getting our posters back from the lockers to aged vets that we were partying with in the pit, everyone was saying that it was the best show they had ever heard. Maybe a little heat of the moment going on but definitely the best show I've seen live.

personally I thought the Rock n Roll>Heartbreaker>Makisupa was some of the best Phish I've ever heard, any ERA.
"I saw a girl in the front row who was smokin' hot, and when I turned around a few minutes later....she was smokin' POT" It doesn't get any better than that!

Reviewing years down the road this show still sticks out in my head for the second set Heartbreaker teases. I feel like you never hear much about this show but definitely worth a listen. I would give the show something between 4 and 5 stars but because I have to go with those two options it was more than a 4 for me.

First set was pretty standard. 5 years later I do not go back and listen to the first set. Second set starts off with a rockin' Rock and Roll and takes off from there. Rock and Roll was definitely (and still is) a great second set opener jam vehicle which blasts off into the rest of the Heartbreaker teased set. I remember taking a video towards the end of the Heartbreaker jam where they got some crazy little jam happening before they jump into Makisupa. The rest of the set is sprinkled with returns to Heartbreaker that made it a memorable show and its always good to get Character Zero to end second set and not encore.

My only gripe about the encore was for the third year in a row they encored with A Day in the Life. Now don't get me wrong, I love A Day in the Life and waited a long time to catch it but Alpharetta 2011, Atlanta 2012, and then Alpharetta 2013 all had A Day in the Life! (Not to mention Tuscaloosa 2015 but they did take a year off.) I don't know what it is about the Southeast but something must make them want to play it every time that they are in the area. This particular year came with the typical Tweeprize show closer so that will always send you home happy.

To wrap things up, do yourself a favor and listen to the second set and encore if you are looking for a fun set that I don't hear mentioned much.

This show--while maybe only a grade above average-great, still ranking a 3-out-of-5 stars for me--does in fact feature some beautiful "ambient space" in a few of the jams: particularly Chalk Dust Torture and Tweezer. You also get the rare Pebbles and Marbles, as well as a crack at Led Zeppelin's classic, Heartbreaker. The setlist is about half-full of songs that I always want to hear, and about half-empty of a lot of other ones that meet that criterion. In other words, I'm on the fence as to whether this is an excellent setlist or not (bearing in mind that with 35 years of Phishtory at this point, there have been a lot of excellent setlists to compare with.) The big thing that'll probably push this show forward to newer phans is the Rock and Roll -> Heartbreaker, but be on the lookout for those beautiful ambient-space jams!

This show is special to me not so much because of the quality of playing, but because it is my first show. Because it was my first show everything was magical.

My honest opinion of the show though, when talking about the music playing, I say there were no fire moments. Everything was just kinda kept inside the box. The Kill Devil Falls opener got me grooving right away. The Makisupa Policeman was quite funny w/ Trey pointing out a girl that he looks back at and "she's smoking pot." The Heartbreaker was pretty much the buzz of the show. My highlights or favorite parts of the show were Hood, Character Zero and A Day in the Life. Hood, because that is the song that got me into Phish and I got it at my 1st show. The Character Zero in this show was spot on rock. A Day in the Life, the energy of the crowd when they heard that really was cool.

Overall, a special day for me, but the overall level of playing was a 3 out of 5 stars for me.

I like Joy a lot actually, put in the right place it can serve as a great buildup to fiery ending of a set like it did on 8/25/2012. BOAF is such an uptempo song so it was like running straight into a brick wall when I heard everyone get quiet so Joy could start. I turned to Brennan and yelled "Worst placement ever!" But it wasn't that bad.

Overall, really good show and I prefer this one over the next night. Oh, and I lost my shit when Tweezer started; my first ever

I'm an idiot. It is definitely a Golden Age tease from page right around the middle of Antelope. Right around the 4:30 mark. Sorry for the poor incite in my earlier review.

Horn and Heartbreaker were my highlights. I always love Tweezer and CK5 was all over A Day in the Life. I saw where someone was displeased with that choice for the encore, but if you were at the show I can't imagine how you were let down. The light show was incredible.

This was my 6th Phish show in Alpharetta, and after the 2011 second day of rain, I had high hopes for the first day that provided clear weather. I saw the world premier of KDF @ Bonnaroo 2009, and it was to date the best version I've ever seen, but it made for a great opener considering I enjoy the song. I knew when I heard Mound, they had something to prove because in 2011 Alpharetta Day 2, Mound was stopped mid-way and the show was postponed due to the threat of severe weather. This was a good Mound, and I felt like we deserved it. Bathtub Gin is always welcome, and it was well placed. When I heard Possum, I felt like I needed a bathroom break because I dont care for it too much, but this one had Horn teases and it paved the way for Pebbles and Marbles. They have played Ocelot every time I saw them in Alpharetta, and the segue into Cavern was great. Cavern is a personal favorite of mine, so I always love hearing it. SET TWO opened with an energetic Rock & Roll, which Ive come to love. R & R > Heartbreaker really sealed the deal for the second set. Makisupa was a REALLY great surprise, and I knew things were only going to get better. CDT > Wilson... Those two are a mean 1/2 combination, and with Teases from Heartbreaker along the way turned the energy UP to AMAZING. It didn't stop there, Wilson segued into Tweezer which also contained HB teases, when it fell into Silent in The Morning I knew they were going to JAM the rest of the set, and my feeling prevailed. Harry Hood with HB teases > Character Zero with more HB teases. Tweezer Reprise sealed the DEAL! This was one of the best second sets I've EVER seen! The energy of the crowd was amazing, and Alpharetta 2013 is an experience I will never forget.

AMAZING !!!! I was totally blown away. Exceeded any expection I had..... They f.....en ROCKED IT! LOVED Peebles & marbles and the heartfelt JOY. I am still gettng chills over how lucky i was to have been there!!!!!!!

That's as hard as I've ever head banged with Phish and Trey. It was blast from the start to the end. Looking back, Killer Devil Falls was the perfect start to a perfect storm of great songs and fun jams.

The crowd was pumped up and from my angle in Section 101 far right, the pit looked raucous as well. It looked like the band felt this vibe and went with it.

This show reminded me of the mid 90's and I said so to a rather large headed Chinese dude on the way out of the venue. He agreed, despite being all of 20 years of age.

Listened to RnR through Makisupa while finishing work and the rest of the second set a couple hours later at home.

Rock and Roll sounded strong and smooth and the segues into Heartbreaker and Makisupa did not sound disjointed at all.

Chalk dust quickly left its normal jam for a couple of key changes and a modal shift and accomplishes this quite organically in just over five minutes or so

Tweezer was very tight and felt like it was always going somewhere even though it stayed in "the box"almost all the way through until another modal shift set up a butter smooth segue into Silent

The rest of the set seems well played yet unremarkable( which is not bad at all). I don't know if they took a breather long enough to gab a sip of water for the whole set. I trust this would have been one hell of show to see go down in front of you in real time.

there seems to be a trend forming this tour. not just in song selection but also in the boys bailing out of jams that have huge potential imo. It happens on almost a nightly basis. A perfect example from last night was the Chalkdust. IMO it was a real good version for being under ten minutes but if they really pushed it that cdt could have lifted off into the stratosphere. It could have been one of those jams we talk about for years to come.. There are many other jams from this tour that had that same potential but unfortunately cut much too short. I still think tour is very good overall but it could be on a whole other level. All that being said I can't wait for night 2 because they could flip the switch and throw out a 5 song set on a moments notice.

Donate to Mockingbird

Contact Us

The Mockingbird Foundation

The Mockingbird Foundation is a non-profit organization founded by Phish fans in 1996 to generate charitable proceeds from the Phish community.

And since we're entirely volunteer – with no office, salaries, or paid staff – administrative costs are less than 2% of revenues! So far, we've distributed over $1,000,000 to support music education for children – hundreds of grants in all 50 states, with more on the way.